CLEVELAND — Rookie right-hander Jake Odorizzi anticipates his start Saturday against the Indians will be far more routine than his major-league debut last Sunday against the same club at Kauffman Stadium.

“I’m just going to go out and try to do the same thing I did the first time,” he said, “but I don’t think there will be as many (butterflies). Definitely not. I’m just going to go out and try to do well. I’ll have the same game plan.”

That game plan worked fine for five shutout innings last Sunday before Odorizzi weakened, and failed to survive, a three-run sixth. The Royals’ bullpen then imploded over the closing innings in a season-worst 15-4 loss.

Odorizzi, 22, is generally viewed as the Royals’ most advanced pitching prospect after going a combined 15-5 with a 3.03 ERA this season at Class AAA Omaha and Class AA Northwest Arkansas.

One concern that scouts cite with Odorizzi, who is 6 feet 2 and 185 pounds, is a need for better stamina. His performance last Sunday did little to quell that concern.

“It’s late in the year,” manager Ned Yost said, “but he’s going to have to get over that. I don’t need another five-inning pitcher.”

Odorizzi sees no advantage – or disadvantage – in facing the same club for the second time in seven days.

“I think I’d be preparing the same way even if it wasn’t the same team,” he said. “But, hopefully, we’ll be on the winning end, and I’ll see if I can get into the seventh or eighth this time.”

Hosmer, Escobar updates

Neither shortstop Alcides Escobar nor first baseman Eric Hosmer played Friday but each offered optimistic day-after assessments on shoulder injuries suffered in Thursday’s 5-4 loss at Detroit.

Both players underwent MRI exams Friday morning; Escobar’s test came back clean. Hosmer was still awaiting results but said he was “feeling a lot better.”

Escobar said: “Just today. My MRI didn’t show anything. I’m going to play (Saturday).”

Manager Ned Yost was more cautious.

“We’ll see,” he said. “We’ll go day to day with both of them. It’s probably the same deal as last weekend (with catcher Salvy Perez). We’ll try to get them feeling better before we play Detroit in round two.”

Yost’s policy is to play his regulars as much as possible in late-season games against postseason contenders. Perez did not play last weekend at home against the Indians in order to be ready for this week’s four-game series in Detroit.

The Royals conclude their season with a three-game series against the Tigers that opens Monday at Kauffman Stadium.

Lineup tweaks

The injuries to Escobar and Hosmer produced a lineup with a different look for Friday’s opener at Progressive Field.

Utilityman Tony Abreu replaced Escobar at shortstop, while designated hitter Billy Butler started at first base, his old position, for just the 15th time this season. Backup catcher Adam Moore served as the designated hitter.

Yost opted for Abreu over Irving Falu – both are switch-hitters – because Abreu offered a better power threat from the right side against Cleveland lefty David Huff. Moore started, in part, because he hit a homer last Sunday against Huff.

Moore delivered an RBI double in three at-bats, but Abreu went zero for five.

Extra-base problems

The Royals’ rotation contains three pitchers ranked in the top eight this season in extra-base hits allowed. That nugget comes courtesy of Bill Chuck of billy-ball.com.

It’s also a tad deceptive because Jeremy Guthrie, who ranks sixth with 78 extra-base hits allowed, surrendered much of that damage (58 extra-base hits) while pitching for Colorado.

Bruce Chen (No. 3 at 80 EBHs) and Luke Hochevar (No. 8 at 74 EBHs) are also on the list. The major-league leader is Yankees right-hander Ivan Nova at 87, followed by Arizona’s Ian Kennedy at 84.

Instructs update

Outfielder Brett Eibner and infielder Mark Threlkeld each had four hits Thursday in leading Surprise, a combination Royals/Rangers team, to a 16-3 victory at Maryvale, a Brewers/Mariners combo team, in an advanced Instructional League game.

Eibner, 23, was the Royals’ second-round pick in the 2010 draft but has yet to approach expectations – batting just .203 over the last two seasons at Class A Kane County and Class A Wilmington. He flashed power with 27 homers and 39 doubles in 196 games.

Threlkeld, 22, was the club’s 25th-round pick in 2011 and batted .283 with 10 homers and 40 RBIs this season in 62 games for short-season Burlington.

Looking back

It was 35 years ago Saturday – Sept. 29, 1977 – that the Royals reached 100 victories for the only time in their 44-year history.

A 6-3 victory over the California Angels at then-Royals Stadium boosted the Royals to 100-59. They finished 102-60 before losing the American League Championship Series in five games to the New York Yankees.

The only other time the Royals won more than 92 games was in 1980, when they went 97-65 en route to winning the AL pennant.

Etc.

• Third baseman Mike Moustakas committed an error by bobbling a routine grounder by Russ Canzler in the fifth inning. Moustakas made three errors in Thursday’s loss at Detroit after going 47 games without an error.

• Billy Butler’s 29 homers are the most by a Royal since Carlos Beltran hit 29 in 2002. The last player to hit more than 29 was Jermaine Dye with 33 in 2000.

• Alex Gordon went three for four and raised his average to .294. He also has 59 multi-hit games. The only players who entered the weekend with more were Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera, who each had 62.

• The Royals are 18-33 in series openers.

• The Royals must win one of the series’ two remaining games to win the season series. They currently hold a 9-7 edge.